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We are just 5 days away from September call-ups! While it certainly may be made into a joke that we’ve been calling up guys all year, this coming Saturday marks the active roster expansion from 25 to 40 players.
This season we’ve already seen some notable call-ups, including Taylor Ward and David Fletcher. Other notable call-ups include Francisco Arcia and Jose Briceno as well as Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez who both came over in the Ian Kinsler trade and made their big league debut as Angels.
Keep in mind that the Salt Lake Bees season doesn’t end until Monday, so we may not see some of these guys until next week.
Position Player potentials:
Jose Briceno - We’ve already seen him this year, and should see him back either on Saturday or some time next week. Briceno hit .291 over 79 ABs this year along with 3 home runs and a 33% caught stealing rate.
Jose Fernandez - Another guy we’ve already seen that should be back. Fernandez only had 43 ABs over 14 games and hit .279 with 3 doubles and zero walks. Even though he is already 30, he could be a piece on the team next year, so it would be good to see him a bit more.
Nolan Fontana - Perhaps he will be back as well. Fontana has 2 hits in his 31 major league ABs over 2 seasons and both of them are home runs. He has a 40% K rate in the big leagues.
Matt Thaiss - Likely the only position player who will make his big league debut in September, Thaiss is ranked as the Angels #5 prospect. Thaiss actually has a higher average against lefties this year, despite being a lefty hitter.
Pitching Potentials:
Eduardo Paredes - The Angels needs arms and Paredes has already been up a few times. Sadly he has a 6.87 ERA this year, but I’d expect him back for September.
Osmer Morales - We already saw him pitch an entire .1 inning. His AAA season has been pretty lackluster but again, we need arms for September.
Deck McGuire - With 32 big league innings already this year, you can bet he’s on deck to join us again soon.
Taylor Cole - He’s been good in relief but not so great as a starter. We could see him back on the roster before the week is even over since he may pitch on Tuesday.
Miguel Almonte - Made his Angels debut this year and gave up 2 runs in his 1 inning. Another arm the Angels can use to get through September.
Jeremey Rhoades - The 25 year old former 4th round pick had a pretty good season for Salt Lake though he did give up a lot of hits. He’s probably a long shot to be added but you never know.
Probably Not
Michael Hermosillo - Has a groin injury that has kept him out since early August. He’ll likely be put on the shelf until next season.
Jesus Castillo - Currently ranks as the Angels #13 prospect and he’s a starter on the 40 man roster. He’s only pitching in AA right now though so really isn’t ready for that jump.
Jose Suarez - The Angels #9 prospect is only 20 years old though he has started 15 games for Salt Lake this year. He’s not on the 40 man roster and I don’t think he’s ready to come up just yet.
Wishful Thinking
Luis Rengifo - Has become the Angels #11 prospect after coming over to complete the CJ Cron trade. He’s only 21 with not even a half season at the AAA level so I’m not sure the Angels pull the trigger on his big league debut just yet.
Griffin Canning - The Angels #3 prospect was dominated the minors until he hit the AAA level and experience some struggles. Given that plus wanted to limit his 2018 innings, he’ll likely be shelved after the AAA season ends.
Jo Adell - Just to make Rick’s head explode, how cool would it be to see Adell in September? It’s not gonna happen. No need to rush the Angels #1 prospect. I’d look for him to get quite a few at bats in spring training though - so book your tickets now!